She especially likes knit purses, so I hope she likes this one which I knit for her birthday which was on Saturday.
I actually worked on it last weekend while watching a whole bunch of action movies, but I had to keep working on the ruffle
through sci-fi night on Monday. But's it's done and it was a stash buster. That's a good thing :)

I looked at several patterns including Twitterpated and a Berroco pattern called Fantissimo which is also a quick knit. The Crystal Purse pattern by Berroco worked the best for the yarn I wanted to use.
I really enjoyed knitting the short row ruffle and think I'll make a scarf using the method some time in the future.

-The ruffle in the pattern is knit with Berroco Crystal FX which is probably lighter than the chenille I used.

-The Quattro yarn was held double for the front and back but I started running out of yarn (doh!) so the sides are knit
with one strand of each yarn. The chenille was held double for the ruffle in front.

Last night, we were saved by a tree. Heidi, Nancy and I had dinner at the South Park Bar & Grill, where, considering we are not in Maryland, the crab cakes are quite good. We headed over to Rebecca's Cafe for some celebratory knitting (it was Heidi's birthday on Tuesday). Rebecca's was quite warm in side, and the music
was quite loud so we sat outside at a table near the door.

As I'm knitting away on my Roundabout Leaf Tank, Nancy on her Orangina, and Heidi (with her back to the street) on a raglan, we hear a loud crash and squealing. We looked up to find two
pick-up truck headlights heading straight towards our table. Before I even realize that I should probably get the hell
out of the way, Heidi has turned around, seen the headlights and was already out of her chair. I vaguely remember thinking
that I couldn't move my feet easily because they were tucked under the table legs, when the truck hits the tree at the edge
of the sidewalk, about five feet from our table.

The driver of the pick-up got out, apparently fine, as did the driver of the car, but not before she tried to move her
car that was now stuck on top of the pick-up's tire.

Apparently the truck was t-boned by a car coming the opposite direction as he was turning left onto Juniper. The
car hit the back tire on the pick-up which came clean off, thus explaining why he lost control of the truck.
I don't know that he would have been able to stop the truck had that tree not been there. We were pretty freaked out,
and several bystanders commented on our luck. Even though it was the 13th. I didn't have a camera, but Nancy did.
Check out the pix on her site or on Flickr.

The good news: I'm at the end of the decreasing portion for my Roundabout Leaf Tank. This means I now add the straps.
Keep your fingers crossed.

For someone who's been knitting almost everyday, I haven't been posting much. It's that whole uploading of pictures
laziness/hassle. But I've reached a point worth bloging about on my Roundabout Leaf Tank from Knitting Nature.

The tank is knit in a spiral, and as you reach the top you start decreasing so the top is straight across, at which point
you can attach the straps. So, I'm decreasing. I got a decent amount done at my first San Diego Padres games on Friday, but my ball of Berroco Denim Silk ran out half-way through. So I actually
watched the game. Actually, I've become quite adept at multi-tasking while knitting. The pic isn't so great, but
I took it using the office camera:

I might have to buy some of this yarn.... Tomorrow, Elann is coming out with their own brand of hemp yarn.
Check it out.

So, Portugal beat England during the World Cup match on Saturday. Wow! It was nerve wracking.
I'm going to try to get a few hours off from work tomorrow at lunch to go see the game at Portugalia. Meanwhile I've been wearing my Portugal hat everywhere :) In the spirit of the World Cup, we're having a ping pong
tournament here at work today (wish me luck, I'm playing against the best player in the office on the first round)!